A study last year discovered that the value of secondhand lego sets grows on average by 11% per year. Believe it or not, this rate of return actually outpaces gold, wine and stocks.

However, this does not mean that all Lego sets are likely to increase in value and it is important to be able to understand where opportunities for growth may exist.

I have had a passion for Lego since I was young, and being the keen investor, this drove me to begin investing in Lego as an alternative asset class. So the reason for investing in Lego comes from two places; a love of Lego, and also the prospect of high returns.

What am I investing in?

There is a series of Lego sets known as modular buildings which I am generally looking at for investment purposes.

Most recently, I purchased Assembly Square (from this series) in December. This was a 10th anniversary set which is due to be retired from sale soon by Lego. As a result, the demand is likely to cause prices to increase once this product is retired.

In December, I paid £179.99 for this but what might it be worth...?

I use the website BrickEconomy to evaluate the increasing value in Lego sets, and spot potential investment opportunities.

Post-retirement, this set is anticipated to grow in value by 17% in the first year, followed by a 14% annual growth.

However, this uses metrics based on other Modular Buildings, and since this is an anniversary set with 1.5x the pieces of a normal one, I anticipate higher growth rates. This may be me being too optimistic though!

How I pick Lego sets to invest in

I do tend to use BrickEconomy as a rough guide for most sets as they let you browse by 'retiring soon' which allows you to spot sets which will no longer be available in primary markets.

This means people will have to go to eBay etc. to purchase and therefore, prices should increase. I tend to look for current trends on eBay as well as looking for special edition sets etc. This allows me to vaguely see what options may be worth considering.

Is it worthwhile?

It depends whether you like Lego or not. There are some advantages and drawbacks as with all investments.

Main advantages:

+ Can offer great return on investment

+ Generally easy to value due to active secondary markets

Main disadvantages:

- Not as easy to sell if need cash quickly

- Takes up space in your house

My top tips for investing in Lego

I am not a financial advisor, and am not recommending where to invest your money. If you were looking to start investing in Lego though, or just retaining value in the sets you or your family have, here are my tips:

Unopened sets are worth more, but if you do open the sets to build them, keep the boxes and instructions in good condition!

Don't buy blindly without doing research into sets beforehand.

Don't put all your eggs into one basket. I am diversifying my portfolio by investing in:

- Lego

- Stocks

- ETFs

- Crypto

Looking to start investing?

Check out our free investing guide here.